In the context of checking the components of third-generation mobile telephone systems, it is necessary to determine the power level of the individual code channels, of which the overall signal is made up. The relevant power levels of the code channels are presented graphically to evaluate the measured power levels of the individual code channels. A graphic presentation of this kind of the power levels of individual code channels is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,340 B1.
According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,340 B1, the individual power levels of the relevant active code channels are presented in the form of a bar diagram. In this diagram, the individual channels are plotted along the X-axis in such a manner that the code channels belonging to each code class are arranged adjacent to one another. The power level measured for each code channel is shown by the height of the bar. The membership of the individual code channels in a given code class, that is to say, their association with a given spreading factor (SF), is shown, in the presentation proposed, in that, corresponding to the lower spreading factor in the lower code class, the bar allocated in the presentation is wider for the corresponding code channel of the lower code class. Moreover, U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,340 B1 proposes that inactive code channels are indicated in the presentation by a dash. In this context, inactive channels are understood to be all code channels, which do not contribute to the data transmission.
The presentation of a measured CDMA signal proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,219,340 B1 has the disadvantage that it is not possible to distinguish whether a code channel in a code class is actually active, or whether the code channel is inactive but the power level of a corresponding code channel of a higher spreading factor is measurable there. A lack of discrimination of this kind between an actual power level of an active code channel and a so-called alias power level of an inactive code channel in a code class, which is lower than the actual code class of the active code channel, considerably impairs the evaluation of the overall CDMA signal.